Contents

Companies

Alt Fuels > Biofuels > Ethanol > World's First Ethanol-Powered Utility Plant - The plant began operating on Jan. 19, 2010 and has installed capacity of 87 MW, enough to power a city of 150,000. The plant, whose ethanol fuel is derived from sugar cane, has lower CO2 emissions and water usage; and has lower Nox emissions. (PowerTechnology)

Verenium - was formed in June 2007 through the merger of Diversa Corporation, a global leader in enzyme technology, and Celunol Corporation, a leading developer of cellulosic ethanol process technologies and projects.

The EFuel100 MicroFueler™ is the world's first portable ethanol micro-refinery system; it replaces the traditional ethanol reflux column system with a solid state distillation technology, making it possible for homeowners and small businesses to safely and cost-effectively create their own fuel, on-site (available 4th Quarter, 2008).

EthanolSeed.com is a small company that sells plant material (Seeds, tubers, etc...), for ethanol making plants for the small land owner, gardener, or family. It has been difficult to find plant material in the past, but it is one of the first steps in ethanol production. Currently selling sorghum seeds. You can buy seeds today, have them by the end of the week, plant them, and your on your way to fuel production, at least maybe sometime in the future.

Products

Ethanol Powered Mazda Furai Racecar - The Furai is Mazda’s next hope in the future of car racing. While going green on the race track is not exactly an eco-minded endeavor, we’re still intrigued that this vehicle can be fully powered by ethanol. The very cool looking performance sports car shows that if ethanol has a place in the auto industry, that place is in the car racing arena. Fuel economy? 2.3 miles per gallon... (Inhabitat; July 29, 2008)

Low-concentration ethanol stove for rural areas in India (pdf) - An efficient stove running on a 50:50 ethanol-water mixture with output similar to the conventionally-used LPG and kerosene stoves -- a first of its kind -- has been successfully developed at the Nimbkar Agricultural Research Institute. (Energy for Sustainable Development; March, 2007)

Technologies

Waste to Energy > Ethanol > Companies Transform Scrap Cardboard Into Ethanol Fuel - A new partnership between a paperboard mill and a biofuel producer is now producing ethanol fuel from scrap cardboard fiber, including the 5% portion that usually enters the waste stream. The cardboard ethanol is expected to emit 80% less carbon emissions than regular gasoline. (Inhabitat; May 31, 2010)

Mexico & Agaves: Moving from Tequila to Ethanol - With a history that stretches well back into pre-Columbian times, certain varieties of the Agave family are beginning to capture the attention of investors and researchers interested in indigenous plants and trees in countries around the world that are not used to produce food and have attributes that make them prospective sources of ethanol. (Renewable Energy World; August 7, 2008)

Ethanol from Garbage and Old Tires - Tubes packed with bundles of white fibers are the core of a bioreactor, which is the heart of a new technology that Coskata claims combine thermochemical and biological approaches to make ethanol out of wood chips, household garbage, grass, and old tires--indeed, just about any organic material. (MIT Technology Review; March/April 2008)

Methanol -- Ethanol's Sister Product - Ethanol can be an even more effective energy alternative to petroleum if the unused portion of the crop are used to create methanol. (PESWiki; Feb. 26, 2006)

Tectane: H20 Injector and Aquahol - H2O Injector is an inexpensive add-on device for car engines which reduces emissions and increases mileage up to 40%, and can allow cars to run on 75-octane gasoline or ethanol fuels. Aquahol is the separate injection of 80% ethanol and 20% water, which is the cleanest-burning fuel. Drawbacks?

Switchgrass shows promise for ethanol production - A large-scale trial of switchgrass suggests that prairie grasses grown using only moderate amounts of fertilizer on marginal land can produce significant amounts of ethanol, making the crop a more viable plant source of biofuel than previously thought. (PhysOrg; Jan. 7, 2008) (CBS News) (Slashdot)

Cannabis Hemp as a Global Warming Solution - Proponents argue that easily grown and robust Cannabis Hemp is one of the best if not the very best plants overall for fuel, building supplies, medicine, fiber, food, paper, and substitute for wood. Some go so far as to argue that it could be the best solution to global warming.

Zeolite Membrane for Ethanol Dehydration - Mitsui Engineering will use a zeolite membrane in dehydration systems for bioethanol plants, to remove water from the ethanol produced. Only water passes through the membrane, thereby helping to reduce process fuel consumption by around 10% compared to other methods. (Green Car Congress; Jul. 11, 2007)

Applications

Honda to sell world's 1st bike with bio-ethanol mixed fuel - Honda Motor Company said on Wednesday it has developed the world's first motorcycle powered by an eco-friendly fuel mixed with bio-ethanol and gasoline, which will be put on sale from mid-March in Brazil, one of the world's largest producers and users of bio-ethanol. (India Times; March 11, 2009)

Research and Development

Solar / Ethanol / Hydrogen > Production > Hydrogen generated from sunlight and ethanol - An international team of scientists has announced success in creating hydrogen at ambient temperature and pressure using a combination of sunlight and ethanol. The method is potentially cheaper, produces higher yields and, because no high temperatures or pressures are required, uses less energy than conventional methods. (GizMag; May 30, 2011)

4 Million Tons of Olive Pits Could Be Turned in Ethanol - One new feedstock being tested in Spain, is the leftover pits from olives after the fruit is pressed into olive oil. As the pit takes up about a quarter of the total fruit, and some 4 million tons of them are generated each year, the hope is that this waste product can be made into something more useful, like ethanol. (TreHugger; Oct. 30, 3 2008)

Better Bug to Make Cellulosic Ethanol -New genetically modified bacteria could slash the costs of producing ethanol from cellulosic biomass. The microbes produce ethanol at higher temperatures than are possible using yeast, which is currently employed to ferment sugar into the biofuel. (MIT Technology Review; Sept . 9, 2008)

Sweet Potato Out-Yields Corn In Ethanol Production Study - In experiments, sweet potatoes grown in Maryland and Alabama yielded two to three times as much carbohydrate for fuel ethanol production as field corn grown in those states, Agricultural Research Service (ARS) scientists report. (Science Daily; Aug. 28, 2008)

Research drives improvements in efficient biofuel processing - he Iowa State project is focused on using fungi to clean up and improve the dry-ethanol production process. That process grinds corn kernels and adds water and enzymes. The enzymes break the starches into sugars. The sugars are fermented with yeasts to produce ethanol. (Engineer Live; July 31, 2008)

Cautions

Alt Fuels > Biofuels > Ethanol > Cautions > Record Food Prices Linked to Biofuels - The biofuels industry is being blamed for record food prices and high price volatility. Earlier this month a report from the World Trade Organization and other international agencies recommended that governments cut support for biofuels to ease that volatility. Next, the U.S. Department of Agriculture issued its corn forecast, suggesting that corn supplies will be very tight this year.... After the report, corn prices shot to record highs. (MIT Technology Review; June 17, 2011)

Ethanol Production Could Jeopardize Soil Productivity - The American Society of Agronomy reports that crop residues possess a critical role in sustaining soil organic matter, and as it is increasingly being used for the production of cellulosic-based ethanol, this removal may impact the long-term productivity of soils. (Newswise; June 2, 2009)

Barry County VeraSun plant, area farmers caught up as ethanol loses its spark - The collapse of this once-promising ethanol industry and VeraSun Energy Corp. having filed for reorganization under Chapter 11 bankruptcy, has rippled not only through the 40-employee plant along a rural highway halfway between Grand Rapids and Lansing, but the hundreds of corn growers whose farms surround it. (MLive.com; Nov. 16, 2008)

The Death of Ethanol: One Thing Wall Street Saw Coming - Once upon a time, ethanol was seen as the future of clean energy and as leading the U.S. to energy independence. “It’s such a waste that the government gave free handouts and subsidies to grow a business that wasn’t sustainable,” said one investment banker familiar with the sector. (Wall Street Journal; Nov. 3, 2008)